Battery chargers are well known. Such devices generally receive power from a standard AC electrical outlet and convert the power into a proper DC voltage for recharging a battery. There can be times, however, when it is inconvenient or impossible to use a prior-art battery charger to recharge a battery in a portable communication device. For example, when one is travelling, there may be no suitable power outlet for powering the prior-art battery charger, or one may not have brought the battery charger along on the trip.
Thus, what is needed is an alternative method and apparatus for recharging a battery. Preferably, the alternative method and apparatus will not require an AC power outlet or a battery charger, but will utilize power from another device to which the portable communication device can be coupled.